1994 and What could have been...
As a
baseball fan, I look back at the 1994 season in embarrassment. The strike
season, the real deal, where hardball playing by both sides led to the
cancellation of the World Series for the first time. (The 1904 Series wasn't
played because Giants Manager John McGraw didn't think of the American League
as a worthy opponent, but this was back before there was a baseball
commissioner, and TV money, to dictate what happened)
Historic
numbers were being encroached upon, Matt Williams was on pace to hit 60+
homers, Greg Maddux was going for his 3rd straight 20 win season (he finished
with 16, and then 19 in a shortened 1995 season and would have easily done it
in 5 straight seasons, Tony Gwynn finished with a .394 batting average, the
highest since Ted Williams and the magical 1941 season. The Expos (now
Nationals) were essentially running away with the NL East crown, and the
Yankees the AL East.
It was when
fans began really wondering if there were players using steroids, beyond the
suppositions of the Bash Brothers doing so. Albert Belle was accused of using
some sort of performance enhancing product on more than one occasion that
season.
It is easy
to lay blame on the broken season, owners, players, unions, league officials;
they all share equal culpability for the lost season. But ultimately, it leaves
a huge black mark on the legacy of then interim commissioner Bud Selig, and has
had a ripple that is still being felt today, as there is no baseball in Montreal , still no .400
hitter.
Now, another Giant holds the homerun record.
Now, another Giant holds the homerun record.
Expansion
happened again in 1993, adding teams in Florida and Colorado, but 1994 introduced expanding the leagues into
three logically regional divisions (Atlanta moving from the West to the East),
adding a wild card team for the post-season that wasn't to be.
But, it
should be noted, that it was also the LAST work stoppage in Major League
Baseball. Lessons learned? Maybe. Then
there was the post-strike issues, possible juiced baseballs, definitely juiced
players...so let's just look at what happened on the field, shall we.
In the NL,
as I mentioned earlier, there were some excellent performances, some of them
had the possibility of being historic. The NL East leader was the Expos, 6
games ahead of the Braves, who were in the wild card spot. The Reds and Dodgers
led the other divisions.
Future Hall
of Famer Greg Maddux was in the midst of a very impressive run, the middle year
of a three year run in which he won 55 games in 89 starts, and had a combined
ERA of 1.90. In 1994 he was 16-6 1.56, winning the Cy Young and finishing 5th
in MVP voting. His 1.56 ERA is the lowest since Dwight Gooden's 1.53 as a
twenty year old in 1985.
Future hall
of Famer Tony Gwynn was on a tear, and finished with his career best .394, the
best average since Brett's .390 in 1980. He was the bright spot on a dismal
Padres team, which had the worst record in the NL at the time of the break.
Jeff
Bagwell also posted some very impressive numbers overall, (39 116 .368) and
kept the Astros within a half game of the division leading Reds.
And then
there's Matt Williams. On pace to hit 62 homers, he finished at 43 96 .267. And
had the very odd stat line that had just 16 doubles. Batting ahead of Barry
Bonds most of the season, it is possible that he would have made a big run at
Roger Maris' mark of 61 dingers. Of course, without dealing with the 'dog days'
or that massive media crush that would have followed him every step of the way
if he was close in September, but we'll never know.
So, to the
stats...and some surprising names:
Top vs.
their Team
1. Marvin Freeman COL 2.0755
2. Joey Hamilton SD
3. Greg Maddux ATL 1.7505
4. Jeff Bagwell HOU 1.7235
5. Bret Saberhagen NYM 1.7196
6. Gary Sheffield LA 1.7186
7. Barry Bonds SF 1.6701
8. Zane Smith PIT 1.5806
9. Steve Trachsel CHC 1.5798
10. Danny Jackson CIN 1.5518
And then
vs. the League:
1. Greg Maddux ATL 2.0675
2. Jeff Bagwell HOU 1.9659
3. Bret Saberhagen NYM 1.7655
4. Ken Hill MON 1.7573
5. Joey Hamilton SD
6. Doug Drabek HOU 1.6682
7. Marvin Freeman COL 1.6602
8. Larry Walker MON 1.6342
9. Mike Piazza LAD 1.6198
10. Danny Jackson CIN 1.6024
Now, as
this blog project is a living breathing document, and I am always tinkering
with formulas, I have made an adjustment to the way I figure value.
Essentially, I take the numbers for each of the above categories, and average
them, giving me yet another number that helps me to ascertain an even better
overall gauge of performance. that being said, the top NL performers are as
follows, along with their actual stats:
Maddux 16-6 1.56
Freeman 10-2 2.80
Bagwell 39 116 .368
Saberhagen 14-4 2.74
Piazza 24 92 .319
Drabek 12-6 2.84
The Post
Season awards were Bagwell as your MVP and Maddux as your Cy Young Award winner
The
American League offense was fueled by Frank Thomas, who was the MVP, Albert
Belle and Ken Griffey Jr. The pitching leaders were Cy Young winner David Cone,
Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens.
The Yankees
were pacing the rest of the league, running at a .619 Winning Percentage, six
and a half games over the second place Blue Jays. The Indians and White Sox
were neck and neck in the newly formed AL Central, with Chicago holding a one game lead. And in the
West, Texas
was on top of a weak division, in first place despite being ten games under
.500.
Griffey,
with a struggling Seattle team, was on pace to hit 58 homers at the stoppage of
play, and with Randy Johnson having a very good season for a very bad team,
it's safe to say that Seattle would have made a very strong push in August and
September, and could have made the playoffs. But it's easy to say and
impossible to prove.
So for the AL , here's what it looked like, very pitching heavy in
the AL ,
surprisingly
Top vs.
Team
1. Randy Johnson SEA 2.0637
2. David Cone KC 1.7138
3. Roger Clemens BOS 1.7065
4. Chuck Finley
CAL
5. Mike Mussina BAL 1.6570
6. Bobby Ayala SEA 1.6401
7. Kenny Rogers TEX 1.6132
8. Steve Ontiveros OAK 1.5925
9. Kevin Tapani MIN 1.5845
10. Jimmy Key NYY 1.5814
And vs.
League
1. David Cone KC 1.8019
2. Mike Mussina BAL 1.7204
3. Frank Thomas CHW 1.6627
4. Jimmy Key NYY 1.6574
5. Albert Belle CLE 1.6069
6. Randy Johnson SEA 1.5557
7. Kirby Puckett MIN 1.5258
8. Steve Howe NYY 1.4574
9. Ken Griffey SEA 1.4507
10. Paul O'Neill NYY 1.4232
And the
other number:
Johnson 13-6 3.19
Cone 16-5 2.94
Mussina 16-5 3.06
Key 17-4 3.27
Thomas 38 101 .353
Clemens 9-7 2.85
Puckett 20 112 .317
Belle 36 101 .357
Griffey 40 90 .323
Howe 3-0 1.80 15
saves
Post season
awards were given to Frank Thomas and David Cone.
So, while there were historical offensive possibilities, the best player in each league was a pitcher.
This is a phenomenal book about a mediocre ballplayer, but an important one nonetheless...
